


Petrichor

by kmo



Category: Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?
Genre: Ficlet, Gen, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-09
Updated: 2015-01-09
Packaged: 2018-03-06 21:05:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3148520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kmo/pseuds/kmo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wherever you go in the world, the rain always smells the same.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Petrichor

**Author's Note:**

  * For [vivaforever597](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vivaforever597/gifts).



> For a tumblr prompt "petrichor- the smell of the earth in the rain" from haruhisato/vivaforever

Hannah found her boss outside on the terrace, listening to the sounds of the rain. She joined her under the awning, careful to sidestep the puddles that had begun to form. “Got the alarm specifics you asked for, boss.”

Carmen accepted the folder with a disinterested “Mm.” Hannah could tell she was slightly annoyed at having been disturbed during her afternoon meditation or whatever she called it when she went into contemplative criminal mastermind mode. Carmen flicked through the pages casually and handed the folder back, bored. “The security’s a bit more pedestrian than I expected. Still, run a few different schematics. I don’t want there to be any surprises.”

“On it, boss.” Hannah shivered. “Uh…boss, maybe you want to think about coming back inside? You’ll catch a cold.”

Carmen raised a dark eyebrow, almost surprised. “As touched as I am by your concern, Hannah, I happen to enjoy the rain. Another of my many vices.”

“You like being wet?”

“I like the smell,” she said and favored her with one of her most enigmatic smiles. “Go ahead, take a whiff.”

“It smells…rainy.”

Carmen frowned. “Try harder.”

Hannah inhaled deeply through her nose. “I smell rain…and peat…it’s mossy and earthy.”

“Petrichor,” Carmen said. Hannah stared back at her blankly. “It means the smell of the earth in the rain.”

Carmen and her fancy five dollar words. Hannah wondered if she was supposed to write it down or something. She never had the heart to tell her boss she flunked that part of the SATs. “What do you smell?”

“Beginnings and endings.”

Hannah puzzled at Carmen’s words until she remembered a factoid of her own. “They say that smell is linked to memory.” Hannah hoped this insight made up for failing the vocabulary quiz part of the conversation.

“So it is.” Carmen paused and inhaled. “It rained the night of my first solo heist. London, the British Museum. Misty, drippy, cobblestones glistening in the streetlamps. The Rosetta Stone heavy and solid in my palm. I’ll never forget it.”

Hannah nodded, understanding. “They say you never forget your first crime. Or catch that high again.”

“ _They_  say a lot of things.” Carmen sniffed, irritated. Hannah had accidently struck a nerve.

“I’ll leave you to your rain then, boss. And your memories,” Hannah said, making her exit.

“Let’s wait until Thursday for the heist. It’s supposed to rain again.” 


End file.
